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How smart is Windows XP?

Hi All,

It's been a while since I've darkened these halls. I'm still stranded on the Logic 5.5.1 on PC island and need to rebuild my DAW. I need to access the accumulated wisdom of the august group.

My question is this. I can buy a single or dual core processor AMD64 processor. Logic Audio for Windows will only see one core. Is Windows XP smart enough to run it's processes on the 2nd core? Is there a real benefit to running a dual core system?

Also, most AMD 64 processors have just 128K of cache per core. There are slower Opteron processors with 1 MB of cache per core. Would I be better off with one of them? In other words does the additional cache memory make up for the slower processor speed.

To give you an idea of what I'm looking at here are the following options on Newegg this morning. All are socket AM2.

The primary purpose of this system will be to run the ancient PC version of Logic. Which processor is the smart choice if I run Windows XP SP2. FYI, I've heard Logic PC just doesn't work with Vista. Thanks.

Re: How smart is Windows XP?

It depends on your host program. If Logic doesn't know how handle multiple cores, then it won't be able to spread around it's threads to the different cores. Windows XP functions in general use very little CPU. Just start up Windows and look at Task Manager without running any programs. You'll see very little activity.

If you're rebuilding your DAW, you may want to spend a little extra money for a faster CPU like a Core 2 Duo. Many are in the $150-$200 range and you will see a huge boost (2-4x) in CPU power.

Re: How smart is Windows XP?

According to me windows XP is best. It does not have any requirement to installed it and never get any problem while installing new software and it will easily support them. But in newer version there are some basic requirement which a new user have to upgrade it computer to use it.

Re: How smart is Windows XP?

Well, I used to like XP but when I had windows 7, I fall in love with it. I love how the whole package and and the appearance is really great. It's compatible with a lot of programs. Now waiting for windows 8.

Re: How smart is Windows XP?

XP can't even get near of new mighty windows 7. Check this comparison ..

Windows XP

Windows Vista

Windows 7

Start-up time (in minutes:seconds)

0:49

1:07

1:03

Shutdown time (in seconds)

17

12.5

11.5

Picasa video Encoding (in minutes:seconds)

5:36

6:02

5:41

Geekbench (higher is better)

1,241

1,248

1,260

SunSpider (in milliseconds, lower is better)

3,170

2,647

1,828

PCMark05 (higher is better)

1,868

1,731

1,823

I like Windows 7. But your data don't reveal anything special.
Faster startup/shutdown is largely irrelevant.
The other numbers show XP and 7 being dead equal, except for Sun Spider (whatever that is).
So what's the point?

Re: How smart is Windows XP?

Sometimes it`s not only the "which is best" question, but it`s a matter of taste.
I mean I`ve been using XP for 10 years or so and i`m so familiar to it that I don`t even think about fixing bugs, improving overall performance by tweaking parts of the OS, it`s all done years ago...

For me XP does what I want, no viruses, no BSODs, rock solid
And the most important thing is that I don`t have to learn Mac or new features of 7 AND WASTE MY TIME on... nothing.
But If you bought your first PC, then, I think 7 is the choise.